Boulder Shelter for the Homeless Executive Director Greg Harms speaks with residents during a "Good Neighbor" meeting hosted by the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless on Monday at the Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

A proposed shift in daily operations at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless has inspired mixed emotions — including concern, frustration and optimism — among the north Boulder neighbors who live near the facility.

During an informal meeting Monday evening at the Shining Mountain Waldorf School, the dozens of people who attended were asked to offer feedback on the proposal, which calls for more intense use of the shelter and service to a different level of clientele.

Under the drafted changes, the shelter, on north Broadway, would open 160 beds year-round for homeless people classified as having "moderate" or "high" needs. Those people would be allowed to stay at the shelter during the daytime, whereas now they are sent away in the mornings and welcomed back in the evenings.

The shelter would no longer offer walk-up and night-by-night service, shifting instead toward long-term service that would allow some clients to stay for more than a year, potentially.

Additionally, the shelter would do away with sobriety requirements.

Many are worried there will be more homeless activity in north Boulder now, and wish the shelter would be more respectful of their concerns.

"Shelter is only having this meeting because city forced them to," read one piece of feedback, placed on a wall of sticky notes with citizen comments. Boulder, and not the shelter, initiated talks of changing operations, as part of a broader change to the countywide homelessness response.

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"The shelter leadership has performed poorly in its responsiveness to neighborhood concerns," read another.

"The shelter should not accept people with a history of convictions related to sexual crimes," read a note that referenced the shelter's recent intake of people deemed "sexually violent predators" by the state.

But some are hopeful, particularly because the changes, they say, will make for more efficient use of the county's only large sheltering facility.

North Boulder resident Marie Vicek writes a comment on a sheet of paper during a "Good Neighbor" meeting on Monday. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

"I want the city to have the flexibility to use its biggest asset — our biggest asset — to address homelessness in the most effective manner," Jane Hummer said.

Mike Pfundstein, who lives near the shelter and volunteers there every week, said the new approach seems to promise more "stability." But he's worried that even upping the nightly use of the shelter won't bring enough beds to those who need them.

Betsy Ducket, who works at Boulder Community Health, shares that concern, especially given the lingering uncertainty surrounding how Boulder will or will not shelter people during emergency weather events. The city's primary emergency, wintertime overflow shelter closed earlier this year.

"Having worked with this population, I'm concerned for frostbite, people not getting into emergency beds, and even death over the winter, if people can't be sheltered," Ducket said.

Eric Savage, who lives nearby the shelter, said he's proud that north Boulder has made a "large investment into taking care of the homeless," but he wishes there were more shelter beds elsewhere in the city.

"I understand other parts of town have various programs, but it would be nice to see a similarly large, established residential place in other parts of town, so that it's the whole community of Boulder that's sharing the load," he said.

Michelle Medal, who also lives very close by, said she's spoken with many people who support the proposed changes, but don't live in north Boulder and thus can't relate to concerns about expanded daytime access, "high-needs" clients and the elimination of sobriety rules.

She said homeless people sometimes congregate in the stairwell of her apartment, and that she often feels unsafe walking outside at night, or even just stepping out briefly to walk her dog. She said she recently called police when a man stood outside her window screaming at her.

"I'm really concerned that it's potentially going to lead to an increase in safety issues," she said.

Greg Harms, the shelter's director, said that his staff will evaluate the proposed changes following the meeting and then refer a management plan draft back to the city. He expects that not all of the changes on which citizens were giving feedback Monday will be kept in that draft.

"I fully anticipate that after tonight, this will get modified, based on the feedback we get, before it goes to the city," he said.

That's expected to happen late this month, and if the city agrees to the shelter's proposal, the changes could be implemented as soon as late November, one city staff member said. If the two sides disagree significantly, implementation could take much longer.

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